Yarn review: Milla Mia Naturally Soft Sock

A few months ago, the lovely people at LoveCrafts* launched a new sock yarn: MillaMia Naturally Soft Sock.* I am a huge fan of MillaMia's yarn range - their Naturally Soft Aran* is a particular favourite: it's really soft, lovely to work with, and the garments I have made using it for my children have worn beautifully - so I was really excited to try out this new yarn.

MillaMia Naturally Soft Sock* is a 75% wool, 25% polyamide sock yarn, which is my favourite blend for making socks: the wool makes the yarn warm but breathable, while the polyamide (a plastic) adds strength to make the yarn hard-wearing. The yarn has a great handle: it's slightly crisp to the touch, rather than the soft that the name suggests, but that makes it great for colourwork as the strands stay where you put them. MillaMia Naturally Soft Sock comes in 50 g balls, which also makes it perfect for colourwork as you can buy a few colours without having to worry about what to do with the rest of a 100 g ball; this ball size is also perfect for heels, toes and cuffs - I often find that a 20 g mini skein is not quite enough for heels, toes and cuffs, while 25 g is plenty, so a 50 g ball will allow you to knit heels, toes and cuffs for two full pairs of socks.

I love that this yarn comes pre-wounds as balls that are ready to knit from - getting the swift and ball winder out often seems like a lot of effort, especially if you only want to wind 50 g of yarn - so this yarn is ready to knit as soon as you receive it.

The colour pallete for MillaMia Naturally Soft Sock* is lovely: there are 20 colours available and I think any two colours would make a great pairing. The darker colours are bold without being too bright, and there are plenty of neutrals to choose from. I knitted socks in the Laurel colouray, a lovely dusty pale green, and while the yarn looks like a solid-colour in the ball, it actually has a very gentle heather to it, which was a pleasant surprise.

The yarn was good to work with, and withstood tinking and reknitting well. I did have an underspun area in one ball that I had to snip out, but it wasn't a very long section, and the problem was easily remedied with just a couple of extra ends to darn in.

In terms of wear, this yarn feels hard-wearing. I would not describe the yarn as super-soft, but I prefer something a little sturdier for socks, so the firmer handle is a definite plus. The socks I made have been worn a few times with no obvious signs of wear.

I would defintiely use this yarn again: the colour palette is lovely; the yarn feels like it will withstand long-term wear, and the 50 g balls make it ideal for colourwork, or heels, toes and cuffs. In addition, the yarn has an OEKO-TEX 100 certification, which means it doesn't contain any harmful chemicals, which is good news for the environment and the crafter.

The yarn was provided by LoveCrafts* for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Want to knit the socks shown? The pattern is Hiding in the Bamboo, which you can find in my Ravelry store.

*Affiliate link.

FREE PATTERN ALERT! Rainbows in the Windows

While the whole World has been stuck indoors during the Coronavirus pandemic, rainbows have been popping up in windows all around the UK. My daughter and I love to count all the rainbows in the windows when we go out for our daily exercise. This inspired my latest pattern: Rainbows in the Windows.

I've been craving somewhat complex projects while we've been told to stay at home, and knitting these banners gave me a huge amount of pleasure! I abandoned my much-loved bobbins in favour of lengths of yarn roughly 1 m long, which may have resulted in a few more ends, but not too many. The rainbow heart is the easiest of the banners, with only two colour changes on the majority of the rows.

The Rainbows in the Windows banners* are perfect for hanging in windows, or on walls. The pattern is written for one basic banner that can be decorated with your choice of four intarsia motifs: a rainbow heart, a rainbow or the words HAPPY or THANK YOU. The patterns for the intarsia portions are provided as both charts and written instructions. If you’re not a fan of intarsia, you can knit the banner without any colourwork and use duplicate stitch to add the motif at the end.

Each banner uses the same rainbow palette, and is perfect for stash-busting., or you could buy the yarn you need and make a few extra rainbow banners for friends and family from your leftovers.

If you enjoy this free pattern, please consider making a donation to NHS Charities Together.

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Sizes
One size: 30.5 cm [12.25 in] wide x 30 cm [12 in] high

Tension
18 sts and 25 rows = 10 cm [4 in] in stocking stitch worked flat on 5 mm (US 8) needles after wet blocking, or size needed to obtain correct tension.

Yarn
For each banner, you will need 130 m [145 yds] of aran-weight yarn in MC.

You will also need aran-weight yarn in the following colours and amounts, depending on which design you are making:

Heart

• CC1 (red): 5 m [10 yds]
• CC2 (orange): 15 m [20 yds]
• CC3 (yellow): 15 m [20 yds]
• CC4 (green): 10 m [15 yds]
• CC5 (blue): 10 m [15 yds]
• CC6 (indigo): 10 m [15 yds]
• CC7 (violet): 5 m [10 yds]

HAPPY

• CC1 (red): 5 m [10 yds]
• CC2 (orange): 5 m [10 yds]
• CC3 (yellow): 5 m [10 yds]
• CC4 (green): 5 m [10 yds]
• CC6 (indigo): 5 m [10 yds]

Rainbow

• CC1 (red): 10 m [15 yds]
• CC2 (orange): 10 m [15 yds]
• CC3 (yellow): 10 m [15 yds]
• CC4 (green): 10 m [15 yds]
• CC5 (blue): 5 m [10 yds]
• CC6 (indigo): 5 m [10 yds]
• CC7 (violet): 5 m [10 yds]

THANK YOU

• CC1 (red): 10 m [15 yds]
• CC2 (orange): 5 m [10 yds]
• CC3 (yellow): 5 m [10 yds]
• CC4 (green): 5 m [10 yds]
• CC5 (blue): 5 m [10 yds]
• CC6 (indigo): 5 m [10 yds]
• CC7 (violet): 5 m [10 yds]

Needles
5 mm (US 8) straight needles

Notions

• Fixed stitch markers x 2
• Tapestry needle
• Bobbins for holding the different yarn colours during colourwork (optional)
• Chart row marker (optional)
• 2 lengths of dowel, 35 cm [14 in] in length and 1 cm [0.5 in] in diameter
• Hanging thread
• PVA glue (optional)

Pattern notes
The sample is knitted in Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran (aran, 184 m per 100 g ball, 100% acrylic) in 202 Champagne White (MC), 213 Rose Red (CC1), 219 Blood Orange (CC2), 222 Buttercup Yellow (CC3), 228 Lime Green (CC4), 233 Marine Blue (CC5), 239 Sailor Blue (CC6) and 247 Pansy Purple (CC7). Yarn support was kindly provided by LoveCrafts (affiliate link).

Instructions are provided for four designs. For each design, you will need to print out the written instructions for the plain banner and either the chart or written instructions for the picture of your choice.

The pattern is designed to be worked using intarsia for the colourwork portions. If you prefer, you can work the banner in a single colour, then add the colour work at the end using duplicate stitch – the yardages given should be sufficient for you to complete the banner this way. Links to introductions to intarsia and duplicate stitch are provided in the Resources section. You may wish to use a combination of intarsia, stranded colourwork and duplicate stitch to minimise ends.

Pattern edited by Jo Torr.

This pattern can be downloaded *for free* from the LoveCrafts website.*

Want to queue or favourite the pattern on Ravelry? You can do that via this link.

*Affiliate link.

Tessellate baby blanket: now available on LoveCrafts!

The Tessellate baby blanket is available now in LoveCrafts store!* Haven't heard of LoveCrafts? It's the new combined home of LoveKnitting and LoveCrochet. You can find all my downloadable patterns in my LoveCrafts store.*

The Tessellate baby blanket* (originally published in Knit Now issue 86) is a bold, high contrast design, inspired by patchwork and quilting. The blanket features a strong geometric design created using simple two-colour squares that are knitted on the diagonal – this blanket makes excellent TV knitting, and is a great portable project. You could work the blanket in pastels, as shown, for a really pretty baby blanket, or you could use something brighter and bolder for a more contemporary look.

Unusually for me, this pattern is completely suitable for beginners. All you need to be able to do is knit garter stitch, work simple increases and decreases, and pick up stitches! The project is also perfect for those of you that want an easy project to take along on days out over the summer – as it's worked as individual squares, it'll fit perfectly in your bag among all the other stuff you need for a day out.

The pattern is written for the baby-sized blanket, as shown, but I've also included details on how to make a larger or smaller blanket, and provided diagrams for alternative seaming arrangements, so this blanket is fully customisable.

The original blanket is knitted in Three Bears Yarn Affection 100% Cotton Aran, which is spun in Lancashire by English Fine Cottons, but you can use any aran weight yarn that is suitable for babies (ideally chose something smooth and machine washable to make it easy for new parents to care for). LoveCrafts doesn't sell Three Bears Yarn, so I've suggested using Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran, which comes in a brilliant array of colours!

Happy knitting!

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Pattern details

Sizes

One size: 93 cm (36.5 in) square

Tension

17 sts and 34 rows = 10 cm (4 in) in garter stitch worked flat on 5 mm (US 8) needles after wet blocking, or size needed to obtain correct tension.

Yarn

Aran-weight yarn in the following colours and amounts (for the blanket as shown; options are included to make a larger or smaller blanket):

A (white): 285 m (310 yds)

B (light blue): 285 m (310 yds)

C (light purple): 160 m (175 yds)

Needles

5 mm (US 8) straight needles at least 25 cm (10 in) in length

5 mm (US 8) circular needle at least 60 cm (24 in) in length

Notions

Tapestry needle

Sample details

The sample is knitted in Three Bears Yarn Affection Aran (aran, 85 m per 50 g ball, 100% cotton) in Pure White (A), Baby Blue (B) and Purple Delight (C).

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*Affiliate link.